Hi Campers!
Today our theme was The Parts We Eat. Campers looked at different parts of veggies to learn more about how their food grows.
Perkin’ through the Pores was an experiment to see how water traveled through different types of soil. They used clay, potting soil, rocks and a few groups used other types of dirt and rock mixtures they found around Tollgate. Campers, what soil mixture allowed the most water to pass through?
During our birthday harvest activity, campers found veggies that either are planted or harvested during their birthday months. Each group walked around the garden to find their “birthday plant”.
Everyday campers get an opportunity to go out in the garden and tend to the plants or harvest. Campers this week have harvested potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. Today the groups used the potatoes and tomatoes harvested from the garden to make french fries for their snack and tomato paste for their pizza later this week.
Be sure to check back on Friday when all the photos from camp are posted!
Tomato Paste
- 10 lbs. Roma tomatoes
- 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. citric acid
- Chop tomatoes in quarters
- Simmer tomatoes in olive oil until they are soft and peels begin to detach
- Pass tomatoes through food mill
- Divide pulp between two large rimmed baking sheets
- Bake tomato pulp until reduced to paste. Check every half hour, turning pans and switching when needed. Paste will reduce to a point where it doesn’t fill the sheet. Reduce to one pan.
- Paste is done when it is shiny and brick colored. It will have reduced by half. This will take between 3 and 4 hours.
- Put in jars and in hot water bath for long storage, or refrigerate or freeze ( I like to freeze it in 2 Tbs. increments in an ice cube tray, then remove from tray and store in a shallow cover dish with olive oil to cover cubes.
French Fries
- 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Sea salt, for sprinkling
Peel and rinse the potatoes. Cut each potato lengthwise into 4 or 5 pieces, then cut each piece into sticks. The thinner these are, the crispier they will be. Place the fries in a large bowl. Cover with cold water, then allow them to soak 2 or 3 hours (or you can stick them in the fridge and let them soak overnight).
When you’re ready to make the fries, drain the water and lay the potatoes on 2 baking sheets lined with paper towels. Blot with paper towels to dry.
Heat a few inches of vegetable oil to 300 degrees F in a heavy pot. In 3 or 4 batches, fry the potatoes about 4 to 5 minutes per batch, or until soft. They should not be brown at all at this point-you just want to start the cooking process. Remove each batch and drain them on new, dry paper towels.
Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300 degrees F, turn up the heat until the oil temperature reaches 400 degrees F. When the oil is hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until golden and crisp. Remove from the oil and drain on fresh paper towels.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/perfect-french-fries-recipe.html?oc=linkback